Location, location, location. This saying has rang true in the business world for a long time and it is especially important to retailers and vending machine operators. USelectIt has been in the industry a long time as a vending machine manufacturer and is backed by over 80 years of experience as a member of The Wittern Group, so we have seen a lot of success stories over the years!
There are a few common factors that all great vending locations have in common:
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Traffic
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Isolation from Alternatives
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Utility
Traffic: If you do not have people near your vending
machine, you will definitely not sell anything. Vending machine operators should
find areas with the right amount of traffic (preferably higher, the more the
better) and the right kind of traffic. You also want traffic that is around the
machine long enough to interact with it. Places like waiting areas work well
for this because potential patrons are sitting near the machine for long
periods of time. Places like malls work well for slow moving and window
shopping traffic that is likely to break their stride and stop off for a drink.
Vending machines in places where people are not expecting to stop will have
lower percentages of the traffic, no matter how high, stop at the machine.
Isolation from Alternatives: Another crucial part of the
equation for the perfect machine location is to make sure that it is separate
from other places to purchase a similar product. If your machine is selling
bottled water and soda and there is a store selling the same thing right next
to it, chances are that you will lose sales to the store. If your vending
machine is located in a park and the nearest place to buy a beverage requires
customers to leave the park and drive to it, then you will have captured those
sales due to isolation from alternatives.
Utility: Especially if you sell specialized items in your
vending machines, such as energy drinks or sports drinks, they should offer
value to customers in the form of utility. People in a waiting room may not
need a quick boost of caffeine from your energy drink vending machine, but
people in an office or at a gym may be willing to purchase them because they have
the need for that benefit.
